Environment
This Group is Saving the Kansas River from Tons of Trash
Bill Hughes has his eyes on a hot tub. The Valley Falls resident isn’t planning a bathroom remodel, though. He’s part of a volunteer group that helps clean up the Kansas River. The hot tub is lodged in the river bottom and it’s too large to lug away. It pops into view during dry spells, when…
The Bison that Protect One of Missouri’s Last Prairies
Before European settlement, the place that we call Missouri was home to millions of acres of tallgrass prairie, a grassland biome home to a diverse array of plant and animal species, like bison. Today, less than one percent of it remains. Bison once roamed North America with numbers in the millions. After government-sanctioned mass slaughter…
Mum’s The Word on the Solar Farm at Kansas City Airport
Area residents flying to and from home may wonder about the fate of the gleaming solar farm at Kansas City International Airport promised a year ago by Kansas City officials and Evergy. The short answer is that attorneys for the city and the consortium Evergy assembled to build the project are still working on the…
K-State Professor Designs Biodegradable Garments for Sustainable Deathcare
A professor at Kansas State University aims to tackle that question in a new exhibition on green burial practices. Sherry Haar, fashion studies professor, designed several garments and textiles for burial made from natural fibers and dyes. Haar said she hopes to start a conversation about green burial practices. The exhibition is available to view…
Citizen Scientists in the Midwest Help Experts Gather Environmental Data
A new policy brief from the United Nations argues that citizen science is crucial to global water security. Ground and surface water are facing increasing threats from pollution and climate change, and scientists need help. Citizen science, which is done by non-professional scientists, is part of the solution, according to the report. And it’s happening…
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks Reintroduces 40 Alligator Snapping Turtles to Sunflower State
An aura of excitement filled the air near the Neosho River in Kansas on a hot September morning. State wildlife officials gathered around several large, gray bins, snapping photos and eagerly chatting. Why the excitement? Forty, dinner-plate-sized alligator snapping turtles, about to be released into the wild. The last known living alligator snapping turtle collected…
Sheep, Native Plants and Fire Tested as Methods for Managing Invasive Honeysuckle Next to the Blue River
Editor’s Note: Additional information was added into this article to identify the species of bush honeysuckle that impacts Missouri. For information on identifying invasive honeysuckle or other invasive plants, visit the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Website. Something is suffocating Missouri’s forest floors. It’s leafy, it’s dense, it’s pervasive, and it can grow so thick that…
Grass Lawns are a Landscape Staple, But an Environmental Reckoning Looms
Lawns have come to dominate our physical — and cultural — landscapes. Now concerns over environmental impacts are propelling changes.
Environmental Justice: Wyandotte County Seeks Solutions
Advocates in Wyandotte County are seeking environmental justice for communities paying the health care price for decades of industrial pollution.
Kansas City Faces Fight as Feds Ponder Sustainability Grants
The Kansas City area faces stiff competition as it seeks nearly $200 million in federal sustainability grants to fund projects to address climate change.